Operation Seduce Batman
by LilyGhost
Summary: Stephanie decides today is the day and goes after Ranger with one clear objective in mind.


**Anyone and anything recognizable belongs to Janet.** ** **The mistakes are mine.** Thanks to ShellSueD for sharing the word 'flirtationship' with me. Warnings for a little smut.**

" _You're a badass bounty hunter_ ," I said out loud to myself. " _You've survived car bombs, kidnappings, dinners with your crazy family, you can live through the ordeal of asking a guy out_."

'Yeah right' was the look Rex gave me. But who can blame me for being nervous? Ranger isn't a normal guy by any stretch of the imagination. _He's_ what all women want and what every man wishes he could be. I still don't get what he sees in me, but he's the only one who _does_ see something special when he looks at me. And I'm tired of fighting it, him, and myself.

I'm going to get my man tonight and he won't know what hit him. At least ... that's my plan. I called Ella first, though, to make sure 'my man' would actually be home and not out preventing Armageddon.

"Did Ranger request dinner for tonight?" I asked her.

"Yes. For six-thirty." She paused. "Should I make enough for two?"

"No. Actually ... I'm hoping to buy him dinner out tonight. Is it possible to cancel his order?"

I felt her smile through my cell. "Breakfast for two in the morning then?"

My face turned bright red at the insinuation. _Stop it, Stephanie_ , I ordered myself. _If you want to be with Batman you're going to have to start acting more like Wonder Woman. And she definitely wouldn't stutter or sweat when talking about a possible sleepover._

"Yeah," I told Ella, finally answering her. "If I can convince him to come with me, I don't plan on leaving him."

"Oh ... he'll go along with you. Don't you worry about that, dear," she said, with a lot more confidence than I currently feel. "I'll see you two in the morning."

"Okay," I said to Rex after Ella had hung up, "now all I have to do is get myself ready."

I _am_ going to seduce Ranger tonight and there is _nothing_ he or my stupid inner voice can do to stop me. I aimed a fist-pump at Rex in a premature victory and then went to my bedroom to pull out the dress that had been last month's impulse buy. I haven't had a reason to wear it yet, but I still remember how sexy I felt when I tried it on. And sexy is what I need to be feeling in order to pull this off.

I quickly tossed what looks like just a scrap of burgundy fabric onto the bed. There isn't a lot to the dress. It has two wide panels that completely cover my breasts but left my back for the most part bare. If anyone looked closely enough at it on me, they'd see a very thin sliver of skin showing from the point where my collarbones meet down to my waist. The bottom part of it was shaped a little like an upside-down tulip, where the sides are a teeny bit longer than where they come together in the front, causing a small V in middle that I hope catches Ranger's eye. I won't look like a hooker, but there really is no mistaking that this is a dress made for the sole purpose of ensuring the wearer doesn't spend the night alone.

I dug my four-inch, black heels out from the back of my closet and dropped them on the floor near the foot of my bed before heading into the bathroom where the majority of work will take place. I opened all the eyeshadows that had been recommended to me to enhance my blue eyes while not making me look like I just came off a weekend bender.

I brushed a neutral taupy-color over both eyelids up to my eyebrows in the same way I was shown last week at the makeup counter where I got them. I added a copper shadow to my lower lids, used a dark sparkly bronze in the crease, I put a little more of the copper color under my lower lashes, and carefully swiped a fluffy brush over everything to soften any hard lines before I moved on. I picked up the dark gold eyeshadow and slid some of it from the inner corner of my eye to the middle of the lid, and then I tackled a similar bronzy eyeliner, completing the look with mascara.

I put my face close to the mirror and had to admit ... I did a good job. My eyes have a sparkle that hadn't been there this morning. Or maybe just knowing I'll be seeing Ranger soon put a new glint in my eyes. I smeared on a little foundation and some raspberry-colored lipstick that I told myself not to chew off on the drive over to the Rangeman building.

I left my crazy curls alone since Ranger really seems to like them, and then I went back to my bedroom to decide what underwear to wear or _not_ wear. I settled on a black thong, but I figured the dress is snug enough on top, and the material heavy enough to prevent a 'twin peaks' sighting, so a bra isn't necessary. Maybe Ranger will show his appreciation for that skipped step when we reach the end of the night.

I let out a relieved sigh that the dress fit exactly like I remembered. I balanced on one foot, then the other, to slip on my FMPs. They're pretty, and also pretty high, and make my legs look a good three inches longer than they actually are which put 'pep in my step' as Grandma would say.

I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. I put fresh water in Rex's water bottle, added extra food and snacks in apology for choosing another guy's company over his, and grabbed my bag on the way out the door. I locked up behind me, keeping my fingers crossed that I won't be back tonight, and drove across town. I fobbed my way into the underground garage and took the elevator up to the fifth floor.

I felt a little stupid walking through an office building, dressed up and makeup-ed out, before it was even completely dark out, but Bobby's briefly widened eyes had me relaxing. He'd be _grimacing_ instead of worrying that Ranger will kick his ass if my overall look struck him as ridiculous.

"Hey, Steph," he said. "Hot dress. Are you doing a distraction tonight?"

"In a way. Do you think this dress would work for one?"

"Hell, yeah. The guy doesn't stand a fucking chance."

"That's what I'm counting on."

"The boss is in his office."

"Thanks," I told him, continuing down the hall to Ranger's office.

The guys always give my confidence a boost even when they aren't trying to. Ranger's door was closed and I had a momentary setback, now worried that I'll interrupt something important, or even worse ... that he'll put the brakes on us like I've done to him. Being petrified of ruining an already great partnership is a stupid excuse for pulling him in only to push him away again, but I'm pretty sure he'll forgive and forget the past due to him clearly having a few reservations of his own when it comes to a relationship with me.

I blew out a nervous breath and then raised my hand to knock, only to have the door swing open before I touched it.

"Were you planning on staying on that side of the door all night?" Ranger asked me.

"Umm ... no. How did you know I was here?"

"I know everything."

He curled his fingers around my wrist and tugged me forward. If I wanted to stay upright on my stilettos, I had to follow him. He shut the door behind us and then leaned against his desk. He took more time than I imagined scanning me from curly head to my painted but still covered toes.

"Are you coming _from_ someplace?" He asked me. "Or going _to_ something?"

"Hopefully, I'm headed out on a date with you ... if you're not busy."

"Have I ever been too busy for you?"

"No," I admitted. "I was letting my plans ride on that. Oh ... and I sorta canceled your dinner, so you'll be stuck eating a sandwich from the control room kitchen if you don't say yes."

"You called Ella?"

"Yep. I hope you don't mind."

"You're free to speak to anyone you choose to. As to your request, I remember saying 'yes' to a lot of things you've asked."

"So we're on? I'm buying, if that helps."

" _I'm_ treating. And I'm all yours."

I wonder if he'd change his answer if he knew I was planning on convincing him that he'd enjoy sharing _every_ one of his mealtimes with me.

"Cat got your tongue, Babe?"

"Yes ... I mean _no_."

He looked amused which isn't the adjective I want to inspire.

"What are you really asking me here?" He asked.

Leave it to him to give me a chance to come clean so I won't screw up the night or our date by spending it worrying about what he's thinking or about to say.

"I want to take our _'flirtationship_ ' and turn it into a _'sexsationship_ '."

"Meaning?"

"I think we should stop teasing each other about what we _could be_ , and actually become it. We should stop flirting and hinting and work on creating a relationship that includes sensationally-great sex on a regular basis and mornings spent holding onto each other instead of pushing the other away."

"You're serious?"

"Yes," I told him.

If you didn't know him well, you would never have seen the shift in his demeanor.

"I'll need to change clothes," he told me.

"That's okay. I did just spring this on you."

He pushed himself away from the desk and reached for me.

"Umm ..." I said, nervous yet again.

"What?"

"You don't take long to get ready to go anywhere, so I think I should wait for you down here," I said in a rush.

"Why?"

"Because we'll end up naked before we hit your kitchen if I go upstairs with you right now," I explained.

His lips kicked up. "And there's something wrong with that?" He asked.

He was standing so close to me, his lips caught on one of my curls.

"Not at all," I answered, "but I'd really like a night out with you."

"Morelli was an idiot," he told me.

"He was, and he still is from what I hear, but why are you bringing him up?"

"Because he never took _you out_."

"So now _you're_ stuck doing it?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop.

He used a single finger to tip my chin back up so I wasn't looking at my shoes anymore. "I've _never_ felt 'stuck' with you, Babe. When it comes to business matters, Tank is my go-to person. For everything else ... I head straight to you. Taking you out tonight, or every night if you'd like, is something I've visualized countless times on nights I can't sleep. You're not a chore to me, you're an unexpected - and still unexplainable - gift."

" _Shit_."

"Now what?"

"I just spent twenty minutes doing my makeup so it'd be perfect, and it's possible you could completely wreck it in under twenty seconds."

He pressed a kiss to my lips and tucked a curl behind my ear. "You look incredible ... and we'll do this your way. If you'd like to wait down here, I'll be back in five minutes." He took a step towards the door but stopped and turned back to me. " _Don't_ leave this office."

"Why not?" I asked, not understanding why he didn't want me bugging the guys for a few minutes.

My insecurities flared up again. Maybe he doesn't think I belong here unless it's for or with him.

"I don't want to ruin your appetite by shooting anyone before dinner, and I'll likely have to pick off a few of my men if you're walking around them looking like that."

"You wouldn't hurt your guys."

"Not unless they hurt you."

"So that was said just as a weird sort of compliment?" I asked him.

"No. I was telling you what could happen if your appearance drove them to the point where lust overrode the need to survive."

I caught his bicep in my hand as he started towards the door again and I laid one on him. My mouth opened immediately to him and instead of worrying about wiping away tears because he doesn't want me, I now had to be concerned that my makeup and clothes will melt off me because he wants me so much. Ranger chose to be a gentleman after we broke apart and gave me the option to join him on seven or continue on with our date.

"Go change," I said, "but _hurry_."

He left me but was back before I could really process what's happening. If Grandma were here, she'd say I got myself one helluva studmuffin. Lula and Connie would fan themselves and give me two thumbs up for landing Batman. And Valerie would turn neon green with envy, since she has to see Kloughn naked. While all those feelings _are_ alive and well in me - who knew you could be envious of yourself? - I also feel like a thirteen-year-old girl when her first major crush finally notices her, along with a heavy dose of women's intuition telling me there's no one better for me than him. Ranger is _it_.

"You ready?" He asked, when he found me standing in the same spot he left me in.

"Never more so," I said, talking about things beyond dinner.

Ranger's hand was warm on my skin as he escorted me into the elevator and down to his Turbo. His hand returned to my lower back as he walked me into a restaurant that has more class than I do. We got a table in a quiet section of the place and Ranger proceeded to pour on the charm.

Over breadsticks and wine, I learned that Julie is coming to Trenton for a full week visit with him when school's out for the summer. He told me his mom has a serious addiction to dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, which happens to be the most effective bribe to get her on your side. And he tried to make me less nervous around Tank by explaining his best friend's obsession with cats. Tank's mom had been a single parent and was barely able to afford food for the two of them growing up, even working two- sometimes three - jobs. I already hurt for him for what was no doubt a rough childhood, but my eyes actually started stinging when Ranger got to the part where Tank had been forced to give up a kitten he had rescued from a Dumpster as a seven-year-old little kid because they didn't have the money or the room for a pet.

Like the conversation, the homemade pasta and sauteed chicken in some kind of sauce was really good. And the caramelized Pina Colada tiramisu could be called orgasmic, but what followed after we finished eating was even more so.

Without asking where I wanted to go, Ranger took us back to his building. Ella had been dead-on when she'd said she'd see both of us in the morning. His arm came around me as soon as I slid out of his car's seat, and it didn't move until we were standing in the entryway inside his apartment, safely out of view of any camera.

"I had fun," I told him, putting my bag down on the sideboard. "We should definitely do it again."

"We will," he promised. "This Friday."

He pulled me to him, but instead of kissing me like I was expecting, he wrapped his arms tight around my waist and just held me. I did the same to him and pressed my cheek into him, giving him a full-body, full-contact hug. His hold on me got stronger just before he loosened it to allow his hands to slide down my hips and over my ass. His fingers flexed and relaxed as if he was reassuring himself that I'm really here.

"I told Rex I'd see him tomorrow," I said, letting him know he's free to explore what's _under_ my clothes if he wants to.

He did.

"Are you sure?" He asked against my throat, his mouth already on the move.

I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged so he'd lift his head.

"Uh-huh," I murmured, and then I fused my mouth to his when his lips were close enough to kiss.

My dress is too tight to just slip his hand into or under, so as I widened my mouth and started rubbing my front against him, his hands went to the material at my shoulders which was really the only thing holding my dress on. He unhooked my arms from behind his head and brought them down to my sides so he could separate me from my clothing. His swift intake of air let me know he did appreciate that my breasts were bare without any extra effort being needed.

"Bedroom," he said, but he didn't give me or my hormones a chance to react to his demand.

His muscled arms crossed under my ass and he effortlessly lifted me off my feet. His internal navigational system had obviously kicked in and apparently he didn't need sight, since I was blocking it with my body, to locate the bed. Conveniently for him, he'd raised me high enough so my breasts were even with his mouth. Desire shot through my body, starting at the nipple he was sucking on ... all the way down to my now curled toes. I had let my shoes drop to the carpet as soon as they'd achieved lift-off.

He moved to my left breast so it wouldn't feel left out before placing me on the mattress. I quickly got to my knees and snagged the belt he'd put on when he'd switched out his cargos for black dress pants. I'd had a detailed seduction in mind, but I didn't take into consideration how quickly we combust when put in close proximity to each other. I worked on getting him free from his pants as he unbuttoned his shirt.

His hands cupped my breasts when I leaned forward to kiss the rippled stomach that speaks way louder than words on the benefits of eating well and working out. I moved my lips down a few inches and took him in my mouth. Though I didn't think it was possible, I felt him get even harder. I stroked him with my tongue but Ranger only relinquished a few seconds of control. He moved his hips and the rest of his body forward to force me backwards. He slipped out of my mouth as I wound up on my back.

My dress had already been tugged off, but he left my thong on a little longer just to tease me. He traced and licked me through it with his tongue until it was as damp as the rest of me. Only when I had one hand fisted in his hair and the other twisting his blanket into an accordion did he remove it. I breathed a sigh of relief when his mouth came back to me with nothing between us, but that relief was replaced in a hurry by impatience when he didn't seem satisfied giving me only one oral-gasm.

"Ranger ..."

"Easy, Babe," he said, his breath heating my hypersensitive skin.

"I don't want easy ... I want _you_."

Only after I said it, did I realize how true those words actually are. I ordered my muscles to resume working and used my legs to try to urge him upwards. With one last swipe of his tongue, he left my still spasming lower half and worked his way up my body, pressing kisses to my hips and belly button. He spent some time getting reacquainted with my breasts, before reaching my mouth again.

Now that I have him where I want him, I'm not letting him get away from me. I started pushing his opened pants down his hips with my toes. If that isn't a hint, I don't know what is. Being a smart man, Ranger caught on quickly that while I want him to continue to kiss me, I also need him inside me. He let my lips go and got rid of his shoes, socks, and now wrinkled pants.

I enjoyed the sight of his buff body in the buff, but I prefer to _feel_ him rather than just look. My arms and legs were wide open, waiting for him to fill them. He set a steady rhythm that had me panting again in seconds. My hips lifted to meet his, like subconsciously as well as physically, I couldn't bear him being even an inch away from me.

He drew out the torture until a solid sheen of sweat was coating both of us. I don't know which one of us produced it, and I didn't care. I would swear under oath that I saw actual fireworks going off behind Ranger's head, but no one is stupid enough to fire any type of explosive near Ranger's building, so I know I have _him_ to thank for the light show I've been seeing.

I'd bet anything he was seeing some lights of his own as he said my name just before his head dropped heavily into the curve of my neck. His heart's beating against my skin as hard as my own is.

"Is it just me," I said, skimming my fingertips up and down the muscles of his back, "or did it get even better between us?"

He was quiet for a solid minute before he finally answered. "It's not just you."

He stayed in - and against - me until our breathing evened out and the air around us cooled. He disengaged our bodies and cleaned us both up a little before tucking me under the covers and molding himself to me. His front's plastered against my back and I don't think even a crowbar could pry us apart.

"Maybe I should've given Rex food for a week instead of just one night," I said, "because that's probably how long it's going to take to get all my parts working together again."

" _Would_ you stay here for an entire week?" He asked, moving a curl aside with his chin so he could kiss my neck.

"If you keep doing _that_ , I won't want to go even after a week's up."

He'd made a little space between my legs so he could slide what is now my favorite body part of his back and forth along the moisture already regathering there. His hand moved up to my breast and he gently squeezed and flicked his thumb over my nipple. I tried to stifle a moan and I lifted my leg to rest it back on his so we'd be connected again.

My eyes closed as his lips brushed my ear. "Longer than a week, you said?" He asked, plunging deep while pinching something that definitely isn't a nipple.

He's purposely using my response to him to get me to agree to anything, so I thought a threat was in order.

"Keep it up, Batman, and I'm here for life," I warned, as sparks started flying all over again.


End file.
